Silent Treatment
by Kei Nyoko-the masked gem
Summary: Hinata has chronic depression and is taken by her family to Konoha Institute because they are fed up with her. Will she sink even farther into depression and do something drastic or will she find help there? Don't like, don't read, flamers will die.
1. Chapter 1

The seventeen-year-olds were lounging about the room, doing whatever you'd expect them to do (Sakura and Ino were flirting with Sasuke, Naruto was attempting to flirt with Sakura, Shikamaru was sleeping, Chouji was eating, etc.)

They expected their 'sensei' to be late, and so did not care about him catching them indulging habit of blatantly flaunting the rules. So, when Kakashi came through the door at exactly nine-o-clock, needless to say, they were surprised.

"KAKASHI – SENSEI IS ON TIME!!!!!!! IT'S A SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE!!!" That was, you guessed it, Naruto-no-baka.

"Naruto, calm down." Kakashi sighed, why did he always get the weird ones?

"Sensei, why are you so early?" Sakura batted her eyes at him, unable to break the habit.

"We have a new patient coming in today. Her name is Hyuuga Hinata." Kakashi went back to reading his book, having only wanted to see how big the new girl's chest was. But she wasn't even here yet, so he got up early for no reason.

"Hyuuga? Is she related to Neji?" Tenten glanced at the secret object of her affections.

"Hinata-sama is my cousin." Neji said, glaring at the glass of the window more than usual.

As if on cue, the door opened and in entered a tall man with long brown hair, wearing a traditional white kimono. Behind him was a girl roughly their age, with shoulder length indigo hair in a braid, except for two bangs framing her face. She was in a school uniform that was black and white. She was holding a huge old-fashioned brown leather suitcase, which looked like it was packed to the point of explosion. The position she was in, with her head down, her eyes fixed on the ground, the way she was holding the suitcase, it could have been called cute. But this girl's skin was so pale she looked like a ghost, her hair was limp and dull, and her eyes … her eyes looked dead. There was no hope. These were the eyes of someone whose world had been ripped away, and who wanted nothing more than to die by any means possible.

"Hyuuga Hinata?" Kakashi was shocked by this girl. He hadn't realized how far gone her depression was, not until he saw her eyes. 'Can I really help her?'

"Hinata!" The man hit her on the head. She cringed and stepped forward. She found a seat in the front of the class and sat there, hands clutching the suitcase (which was on her lap), head down, eyes on the handle. The man bowed to Kakashi and left the room.

"…Alright then, let's go around the room and introduce ourselves. Say your name, favorite thing and least favorite thing."

"I'm Haruno Sakura, my favorite thing is Sasuke and…." Hinata didn't listen to the rest. She had never cared for introductions, and it especially didn't matter here. She clutched her suitcase, glad that no one had searched it extensively. They might have noticed the knife hidden in one of the books, which was really hollow. They might have taken her only refuge away from her. She hadn't been sure about bringing the knife, but then she realized she really didn't care. She had been deprived of the two things that kept her going, and it had plunged her so deep into this state that she began to truly believe that she was what her family had always called her. So much so that she labeled herself, leaving scars that would never really fade. She was ashamed of her weakness, and therefore constantly covered it up, but that couldn't last. Eventually her family found out, and they were fed up with her weakness, so they sent her here because they could not deal with her anymore. She was punished for liking the things she liked, and she eventually decided that life was not worth living. That the world would only hurt her, so why live at all? She had always been a coward, so the fitting solution was to take the coward's way out. But she hadn't even had the courage to hurt herself, just to plunge herself into a world of fiction and comfort, and learn the insane pleasure one can get from feeling all that one hates slowly leaking out, releasing her from her earthbound prison.

Hinata jolted back to reality when she heard her name called and realized everyone was staring at her intently. She lowered her eyes, and kept her mouth closed.

"Hinata? It's your turn." Kakashi couldn't help glancing at the poor girl. He had never seen a girl who looked so … repulsive. Her hair was dull and almost blue, which made her skin look bluish-white like milk gone sour. Her eyes were like hollow pits, and her worst feature. And yet he could see the makings of beauty in her. Somehow, something had stopped that beauty from surfacing.

Hinata knew why they were staring. She knew that they were thinking about how ugly she was. And she didn't care one whit. They could stare all they wanted, and she would never care. She had learned that if you only wish to die, what people think of you before you die becomes the last thing on your mind.

"Hinata? Hinata?" Kakashi had no idea why this girl would not respond. She was just staring at her suitcase, clutching it like it was the only thing anchoring her to life. "Since we already know your name, you can just tell us your favorite thing, if you want." He normally didn't offer patients that choice, but there was something about this girl that made him blurt it out.

Something came alive in Hinata's eyes. Her mouth opened slightly, and everything suddenly seemed to change. Suddenly, her hair seemed more black and less blue, her skin more of a healthy, pretty pale, and her eyes …… her eyes shone a pale lavender, not the cold, hard silver that they had seemed to be previously. Suddenly, the makings of beauty in her seemed to emerge, and it was that deadened, ugly look that lurked just underneath, as though at the slightest change, it would emerge again.

Hinata gingerly undid the catch on her suitcase and opened it, drawing out one of the few things that kept her going. She had memorized its exact location in the suitcase, so even among all the other books it was easy to find. She held it up, lovingly stroking the cover, before Kakashi began to gently tug it out of her hands. Her head snapped up, eyes wide, as though terrified that he wasn't going to give it back. He smiled encouragingly at her (at least, she thought he did, his face was hidden by the mask). She gulped, and let him take it.

"I Just **Hope** It's Lethal: Poems of Sadness, Madness, & Joy, collected by Liz Rosenberg & Deena November." He looked at the cover, intrigued. The words were white, and some were green for emphasis. The cover itself was black, except for the picture of a dropped strawberry ice cream cone. He opened it to a random page and began to read.

"I hate my staring. I hate my moaning. Sometimes

I lie there in the morning arguing

against myself. I hold a mirror up

above the telephone so I can snip" Kakashi stopped abruptly when he heard a second voice join his, but the other continued on.

"a long hair from my eye. I balance a cup

of coffee on my stomach. Sometimes I sing,

sometimes I hold a feather against my nose,

sometimes I prop the clock against my ear,

sometimes I drag the speakers across the floor

and turn the volume up. There is a hole

above my head, the plaster is dropping, the lath

is exposed; there is a blanket over the window;

I hold it up with nails, it tears in the center

and lets a stream of light in; I can tell

when it's six o'clock, and seven o'clock, it is

my hour, the blanket is full of holes, the light

comes through the threads, it is a greyish light,

perfect for either love or bitterness,

no exaggeration or deceit." Hinata's eyes were closed as she finished reciting the poem she had memorized a long time ago. That one was one of her favorites. She was no longer aware of all the eyes staring at her, evaluating her. She had plunged herself back into that world of poetry and stories, where good always won, where magic was real, where the princess got her prince, where every story had a happily ever after.

While Hinata was daydreaming, everyone else was contemplating the poem she had just recited. Kakashi was amazed that she had memorized it. Neji was surprised that she had gotten that book past the Hyuuga long enough to memorize it, for the Hyuuga were infamous for their hate of poetry and fiction. Naruto was marveling at her sudden change from the embodiment of ugly to a beautiful, delicate creature. Sasuke was remembering the last time he had heard that poem, and how similar her voice sounded to the one who had recited it for him. Gaara was speculating on how true the poem was. Everyone was thinking their own thoughts, and all hated to be dragged out of them, but they were.

"I don't get it!" Sakura whined. She had always hated poetry, it was far too abstract for her. Now, realistic fiction, romance novels, all that she loved, but even poetry was far too weird for her.

Hinata was snapped back to reality, and started reaching for her book. Kakashi, still in his dazed state, barely noticed her slipping it out of his hand.

A bell rang, and everyone began to leave. Hinata started to slip the book back into her suitcase when someone grabbed her hand. She looked up to meet the eyes of her cousin, and immediately lowered them again.

"You know how the Hyuuga feels about poetry. I shall have to report this to Hiashi-sama." Hinata clutched her book to her chest, and her eyes were as wide a saucers, as though losing that book would kill her.

"Hey, Neji! Leave her alone!" Naruto shouted at Neji, angry at him for some reason. Even Naruto wasn't sure why, but he really hated that look of fear in Hinata's eyes. Neji scowled and walked away, glaring at Hinata the whole time, but obviously he did not want to deal with Naruto right now.

"Hey, Hinata-chan. That poem you read was really good." Hinata blinked at the chan. What was this guy's name again?

Naruto was getting nervous, what with her just staring at him, when he felt a hand smack the back of his head.

"Baka, you don't even know what it's about." A cold voice coming from a boy with even colder eyes. He had a godlike sort of beauty, which reminded Hinata of someone, but she wasn't sure just who. Some would have swooned over him, but Hinata had seen many like him, and knew his type better than she knew members of her own family. He seemed rude, and exuded arrogance. The other boy was his exact opposite, with a kind of childish cuteness, and he just radiated warmth. He didn't seem to have much respect for formalities, and was obviously the kind who wore his mind on his sleeve.

"I did too, Sasuke-teme!" The sun boy was yelling at the darkling boy. Their antics were not enough to distract Hinata from packing up her things and opening her book, determined to read it many more times before her family took it away from her. She was about to leave the room when the doorway was blocked by a woman. She had wavy brown hair and red eyes.

"Hinata-san, I see you have met your counseling group. It is time for me to take you to your room, where you can unpack." She began to lead Hinata out of the room, but the sun boy stopped her.

"What's wrong with Hinata-chan anyway? She wouldn't talk to anyone, until she began to recite a poem, and she hasn't spoken since." Hinata regarded the sun boy again, and her respect for him raised a notch. He was obviously very observant when he wanted to be.

"Hinata …… suffers from chronic depression. Her family was …… fed up with her, and, well, her answers to their questions." The red-eyed woman was obviously very uncomfortable, and probably did not like discussing her patients with other patients.

"What do you mean 'her answers to their questions'?" The darkling boy was speaking now, and his face showed an obviously rare flash of confusion, which was quickly replaced by that mask of stoicism.

"Well, Hinata, she, well, she doesn't speak using her own words. What I mean is, she will only quote things. Poems, stories, all sorts of things. Some are very obscure, some well known, but the one thing she won't say is something that comes from her own mind." All this came from the red-eyed woman's mouth in a rush, as though she just wanted to get it out. Sun boy's and darkling boy's eyes widened, but Hinata couldn't care less. They could feel sorry for her, they could hate her, she didn't care. At least she wouldn't be here very long.

A smile crossed her face at that thought. This place would drive her even further into insanity. She might finally get fed up enough. She might finally gather the courage.

She might finally kill herself.

Was that way too depressing?

It'll get better eventually.

Soon, even.

Hinata'll get friends.

Yeeeey! Clap for friends!

Sorry, I'm really hyper right now.

Oh, and the poem is called I hate my moaning by Gerald Stern. Oh, and that book does really exist, and it's really good.

Oh, and I don't own Naruto, DUH! God, you people are so stupid. (not really)

I'm sorry about not updating my other fics, but this idea was too good to waste. Anyway, when you review tell me who you want Hinata to end up with. The choices are;

Naruto (a.k.a. Sun boy)

Sasuke (a.k.a. Darkling boy)

Itachi (He'll come in later)

Gaara (they'll interact later too)

Neji (he comes around eventually)

If you don't like any of these pairings, I'm sorry. But when I first thought of this story, they seemed to fit the requirements for my story perfectly. Well, I gotta go.

P.S. Reviews make me happy, which makes me update faster.


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, so, so far the votes go like this:

Naruto: 2

Neji: 1

Sasuke: 1/2

Gaara: 1/2

Itachi: 0

Itachi will most likely pick up, once he gets into the story.

Anyway, there'll be a lot of depressing poems in this story, but there will be an extremely uplifting one that plays a big part. Thanks for the 4 reviews, I love this story so much that even that number made me update. Anyway, enjoy!

O-O-O-O-()-O-O-O-O

The woman, whose name is Kurenai, showed me my room, and it, in a way, told Hinata how insane they thought she was. It was white, and most everything was padded, but if need be she could always break the light bulb or scratch her wrist on the edge of a book. This way of thinking was only developed by many years of being denied everything she loved in the Hyuuga household, and part of her was disturbed by how criminal her mind was. But to survive as long as she did, she had needed to force her mind to adjust, to think about ways to sneak books in, and later on in applications much like this one. She sighed, and finished unpacking her books. The only one not on the white bookshelf was I Just **Hope **It's Lethal. She loved that book more than life itself, it had kept her going. Have you ever felt like only one thing was connecting you to life, only one thing keeping you from just fading away? That was how Hinata felt about it. Because of this book, she had kept that fake smile on her face. But (as she thought about this, her face visibly darkened) now she didn't have to do that, now the book had no purpose. She should get rid of it, that would help her die faster, but … she couldn't. It was her one last tie to him, to the boy that helped her so much. Her one last tie to the world, the one thing that would stop her from just being erased, from disappearing as though she had never existed.

Sighing, she decided not think about it right now. It was too complicated, and right now it was time for food. She picked up her book and wandered into the cafeteria, where they were serving some kind of colorless mush that looked kind of like a mixture of curdled milk and rancid chunky cake mix. She decided not to risk it and went for the bread instead, which was store bought. She was allowed to eat what she wanted because she didn't have a food problem. The bread seemed fine, so she grabbed an orange juice and looked for somewhere to sit. It occurred to her that this place was a lot like her high school, but then she noticed that the only utensils they had were plastic spoons, and she knew that was because of people like her.

She found herself sitting at an empty table, not knowing how she had gotten there. This happened often. When her mind was somewhere else, her body operated of its own accord, and got her the places she needed to go. She was about to eat when Sun boy joined her at the table, bringing a long a whole string of others.

"Hey, Hinata-chan! How'd you know that this table was our groups?" Sun boy asked, smiling a goofy grin that showed almost all of his teeth. That is, until a girl with cotton candy hair smacked the back of his head.

"Baka! The tables are labeled. And Kakashi told her that she had to sit with the group. Not everyone is as stupid as you!" Hinata blinked. Two things were on her mind. One was how her body's ability to function on its own was kind of scary. The second thing was what this girl's name was. She had been the first one to introduce herself, but, then again, Hinata hadn't listened at all.

"Anyway, Hinata-san, I apologize for Naruto here. He's an idiot. By the way what were you and Sasuke talking about at the end of group therapy? You know, he's only being nice to you because you're new. Don't even think about stealing him from me. After all, I'm the one who's tried the hardest to get his attention, and I deserve it." She flipped the woven strands of cotton candy that were her hair over her perfect shoulder. So Sun boy's name was Naruto.

"There are certain shades of limelight that can ruin a girl's complexion." Hinata's eyes were focused on Cotton Candy's face, staring into twin emeralds.

"And what's **that **supposed to mean?" She asked, her voice pleasant, but her face and eyes hard.

"Well, Sakura, it means that" The girl who's hair was platinum blond straw, straight as a pin, and whose eyes danced with light was cut off by Cotton Candy.

"I know what it means, Ino. I'm not an idiot, like some people." Cotton Candy, whose real name must be Sakura, looked pointedly at the girl who was evidently called Ino. Ino glared at Sakura and pursed her lips, but said nothing more. So, for some reason unknown even to her, Hinata spoke for her.

"Better to keep quiet and appear an idiot than to speak and remove all doubt." Hinata's eyes were focused on Sakura's. Hinata had no idea why she was saying all this, when she hadn't spoken to her family in months. But there was something about how Ino just took Sakura's abuse, how she didn't fight back, that angered Hinata to no end. Probably because she had just taken her family's abuse and hadn't said a word. Hinata found it easier to stand up for other people rather than herself.

Hinata stood up, gathered her things quickly, and left before Sakura could say another word. She wasn't really hungry anyway.

()-()-()-()- O -()-()-()-()

Half an hour later

Ino found Hinata in the common room, reading a book. As Ino entered the room, Hinata glanced up from her book. Upon learning who it was, she continued to read.

"Listen, Hinata-san, I just wanted to say thanks for defending me." Hinata just looked up and smiled, a nice warm smile, the kind of smile that Hinata can only smile after helping someone, because it reminds her of who she used to be, of her one friend, of her mother and grandmother. Ino sat down beside Hinata, and continued to talk.

"I used to be able to stand up to her, but being in this place so long had whittled away at me so much, that now I just give in. Somehow, this place doesn't affect her. She stays the same no matter what. Why did you defend me anyway?" Hinata contemplated her answer for a long time, and finally settled on the right thing to say. Something about this girl, something about their similarities made this girl impossible to lie to.

"I've watched a young woman fondling three strands

Of her own hair

In the back seat of a Maserati. She said, "I am so young

And beautiful I won't exert myself precipitously.

Watch my blue eyes, the way I toss my hair,

The boredom in my perfect shoulder."

When I was young, back there in an old truck without tires,

Playing house with baby sister, we had our own

Christmas tree

In February. There were shreds of tinsel hanging on it still.

We balanced small pieces of colored glass carefully

On its branches. It was cold, Foster Mother drunk.

Her broken brother chased us through the attic one day

Lower denture hanging out, smelly blanket on his shoulders.

Dad hadn't beaten me up yet. I was six."

Both girls remained silent for a time after that. After that Ino told Hinata all about her family, her anorexia, everything. Hinata listened carefully, sympathetic to the poor girl. Eventually Ino had to leave, for it was time for her therapy. Hinata would only see Kurenai every other day, so she mulled over what Ino had said.

'Maybe, just maybe, I can get better here. At least they won't hit me for reading poetry or quoting things.' Hinata sat there, reliving all the times her family had hit her for doing something wrong. They hated poetry and fiction, anything literary that was fiction really. Hinata decided that she would try, at least.

After all, who wants to live their last months as zombie?

And …

At least no body could say she didn't try.

()+()+()+O O+()+()+()

I tried to make this one a little more uplifting, since the last one was a little depressing. Besides, she wouldn't be the Hinata we all know and love if she didn't at least try.

The poem is called Jealousy by Elaine Restifo.

Gee, do **you** think I own Naruto?

P.S. See that little button in the left hand corner. Push it and tell me what it does, okay?


	3. Chapter 3

I really love this fic, so I'll probably ignore the others for a while, I'm really sorry about that. Anyway, I hope you like the new installment, with some GaaHina action. I really love the reviews, even if there are only about four for each chapter. I have to work my way up. So ready, set, go!

Determined to fulfill her promise to herself, Hinata walked into the room with her head held high, and then realized that she was the first one there. Sighing at her stupidity, she sat down at a table in the middle, for the front would mean having that man grab her book away from her again, and the back seemed anti-social. She watched as people entered the room one by one. After her came Darkling boy, who glared at her. She cocked her head to the side, and considered what the boy had been like at the end of group yesterday. He had yelled at Sun boy, or Naruto, for something or other. The way he had looked at her was odd, as though he were trying to see right through her, dissect her so that he could simply understand. She hadn't even done that experiment in her science class. She couldn't see the point of killing something just so that you could understand how it works inside. It was destroying a life for selfish reasons.

Next came Neji, and his glare was so intense that Hinata actually felt cold. She knew why he hated her, and she blamed herself entirely for what had happened. That day had been her first step towards what she was now.

After Neji there was some boy with fire for hair, and many others followed. There was Cotton Candy, Sun boy, and that Ino girl.

Ino waved to Hinata, and came to sit with her.

"You know, you look different." Ino was looking at Hinata, evaluating her. "Yesterday you looked all ugly, no offense, and you had this kind of … I don't know, dead look about you. Your hair was like, sort of lack luster, and stuff like that. But today you look happier, and pretty. Yeah, you definitely look prettier. So, what do you think of everyone around here? I mean, Sakura is a jerk, but she was one of the few girls around here, so I hung out with her even though she was rude and mean. The only other choice was Tenten, and she threatened to slice me from navel to nose if I bugged her one more time. This place can tend to crush your soul sometimes. People aren't always nice, and some of them are like, homicidal. See that boy over there, with the flaming red hair? He's in here because he went crazy and almost blew up a supermarket." Ino went on like this for a while, telling Hinata why everyone was in here. There were some pretty serious cases, most of those involved trying to kill someone. Suddenly everyone's attention was directed toward the front of the room, and Hinata realized that the teacher (what was his name? Oh, yeah, Kakashi.) had come in.

"…………………………….What?" He smiled through his mask, and most of the others sweat dropped. "Anyway, today we're going to …… I don't know, just talk amongst yourselves." He sat down at his desk, and everyone went back to doing what they were doing before. Ino noticed Hinata's confused look and began to explain.

"He's too lazy to actually make us do anything, so he just reads and we do anything we want." Hinata raised her eyebrows at this, and Ino seemed to read her mind. "He doesn't get in trouble because none of us complain. I think most of them prefer to be left to their own devices. Still, I would like it if he would at least pretend to care about us." Ino's face fell, and Hinata put her hand on Ino's shoulder. Ino looked at her, and Hinata smiled. Ino smiled back, and began to talk about how she had wished that another girl would come here. Before they knew it, it was time to go. Ino had therapy, so she said goodbye and left. Hinata had free time because her schedule hadn't been figured out yet. She went to sit by a window and felt that familiar surge of loneliness and pain wash over her. She could feel it setting deep in her bones, reminding her that she wasn't just in here for socialization. She sighed, and her eyes welled up with tears that she blinked down. Everyone had left the room anyway.

"How do you do that?" She was startled as a cold voice came from behind. She whipped her head around and found herself staring into the cold blue-green eyes of Gaara, the almost mass murderer.

"How do you do that?" He repeated his question, impatience edging into his voice. He hated having to repeat himself. He realized that she didn't understand what he meant. "How do you smile one moment, and then the next you're about to cry?" He didn't even know what had possessed him with the idea to ask her this, but suddenly he found himself over here, asking the question. She considered his question, and finally selected an answer.

"You can judge your life by two moments

There's the moment where all your friends

Surround you, laughing, joking

You smile too, and feel the warmth

Engulfing you, as you join in the pillow fight

And there's the moment

Where all your friends are busy

Or have abandoned you for the others

When your peers have their own friends

And they ignore you

Laughing at their own inside jokes

Where all you want to do is cry

Even at the expense of your pride

Because your life is in shambles

And your parents have been busy

The past two nights, and don't care anyway

And your brothers are finally minding their own business

So you hold it in, until

You can get home

Get to your room

And talk to the only thing that will listen

Your cat." Hinata's eyes were sad, as she remembered who wrote this poem, for it wasn't from any of her books. Her mother had written it when she was young, and she had to take the train to school. The train could be packed full of people, and she still would feel all alone.

The boy just stood there for a long time, obviously thinking about what that poem means. Finally, he spoke.

"What if you've only experienced one of those moments?" His voice was quiet, and he had narrowed his eyes. Hinata smiled at him, and her eyes seemed to convey the answer to his question. 'Then you need to experience the other, because it is what makes life worth living.'

Gaara sat down beside Hinata, and they just sat there until Gaara had to go. He left, and was glad that he had asked his question after all.

Neji observed all this from the corner. He knew that poem, he had heard it from the only other person who dared to read and write poetry within ten miles from the Hyuuga compound. That brought back memories from back then, when he and Hinata were friends, before Hinata had essentially killed his father. Before Neji had been passed from institution to institution, until finally they settled him here a few years ago. He hated Hinata. No, hate wasn't a strong enough word. He despised her with every fiber of his being, and that would never change.

YAY! I finished another chapter! The score for who ends up with Hinata is as follows:

NaruHina: 2

SasuHina: 1/2

NejiHina: 1

GaaHina: 1 1/2

ItaHina: 1

And, guess who wrote the poem really. Me! That's right! My poems are the only thing in this fic you can criticize. I know most of them aren't that good, but this one I really wrote from my heart, and I actually kind of like it. But, don't hold back on that constructive criticism. If my poetry really, truly sucks, I'd like to hear it now.


End file.
